I love to get stronger and for me it's what going to the gym is all about, however, lets not forget, unlike most athletic disciplines we cannot train events day in day out so we have to compartmentalize our training. Yeah, get stronger in the gym, but also get more powerful in the gym, get faster on the events, get better conditioned on the events. It's not just down to who is the absolute "strongest" IMO.

Wayne_Cowdrey said:Does it become even more fun if the farmer's weights get dropped down to 70 per hand?

But you like it heavier to be "challenging", does that mean 200kg per hand is more fun for you? The "it's too light" argument swings both ways. Yeah, it's got to be challenging, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find weights that some would class as light and make them a whole lot more taxing by increasing the distance they need to be moved.

Again, I throw it back out there that some people don't like the idea of lighter (not light) weights because they would get spanked by a lighter better conditioned athlete and that doesn't sit well with their egos.

slimsim said:
But you like it heavier to be "challenging", does that mean 200kg per hand is more fun for you? The "it's too light" argument swings both ways. Yeah, it's got to be challenging, but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find weights that some would class as light and make them a whole lot more taxing by increasing the distance they need to be moved.
Again, I throw it back out there that some people don't like the idea of lighter (not light) weights because they would get spanked by a lighter better conditioned athlete and that doesn't sit well with their egos.

Excellent point, I know I for one have sacrificed speed, conditioning and mobility for bodyweight, which has made me a better open strongman(not a good one, just better)

however the result is now very far what I got in to this for, I wanted to be a strength athlete, and from now on I am going to be, and if that makes me a worse open strongman, I don't care

slimsim said:
Again, I throw it back out there that some people don't like the idea of lighter (not light) weights because they would get spanked by a lighter better conditioned athlete and that doesn't sit well with their egos.

No, got f**k all to do with egos

Its STRONGman...the implication being the strongest man should win...not the f**king better conditioned athlete

I honestly think some of you lot should take up crossfit and stop whineing about how heavy the sport is getting...no f**king s**t, its strongman, therefore you should have to be very strong to excel in it!

JC said:
No, got f**k all to do with egos
Its STRONGman...the implication being the strongest man should win...not the f**king better conditioned athlete
I honestly think some of you lot should take up crossfit and stop whineing about how heavy the sport is getting...no f**king s**t, its strongman, therefore you should have to be very strong to excel in it!

Martin, I dont wish to sound rude, but in this thread you imply open weight are too heavy or are getting too heavy for you

So, you think the sport should change for you...I dont think that should be the case

You have a number of options (i) try to get stronger, by whatever means necessary (ii) drop down to 105s and lift lighter weight in that BW cat (iii) persue another activity more in line with the type of athletes you wish to become

JC said:
Martin, I dont wish to sound rude, but in this thread you imply open weight are too heavy or are getting too heavy for you
So, you think the sport should change for you...I dont think that should be the case
You have a number of options (i) try to get stronger, by whatever means necessary (ii) drop down to 105s and lift lighter weight in that BW cat (iii) persue another activity more in line with the type of athletes you wish to become

I don't mean for it to come across that way, but I see that it probably does

I am quite happy up here in Scotland, the comps are within my range, I will try and get better at what I want to be, just without Tropicana

this is just my hobby, if I don't enjoy it, I won't do it

but maybe your option 3 is what I'll end up doing

I just don't like what strongman is becoming, the athletism is gone, the fun and excitement is gone

BSM would have bored me to tears, and was far from what strongman was about when I used to enjoy it

As long as the comps arnt 1 dimensional and they test all aspects of strongman then im happy.

Personally I think lighter farmers are fine for a speed event as long as theres something that tests max strength etc.

The sport, like any other sport, it will move forward, and so do the athletes, so weights do need to go up to challege the STRONGEST for STRONGman. But comps still need to test all aspects imo.

Another reason why I feel the weights are going up so much is that strongman is really just in its infancy. Us guys who have been doing it a while are lucky, we havnt had that much competition, as the sport grows and new guys enter the ranks, I think we can all find ourselves getting left behind a little, as there are so many great athletes and hidden beasts who have not even tried strongman yet.

JC said:
I'm not by any means saying your opinion is not valid and shouldn't be aired
I would have enjoyed the BSM events...but surely that is the beauty of SM, there are some many varied events, some comps you'll like, some you wont
Look at ESM u105 events, I hate them (keg toss, arm-arm, sandbags, DB, DL, stones)...but I'm sure you'll love them
SM is evolving for those wishing to get to UKSC and WSM, but I'm not sure too much has changed at local level....still plenty of comps around not choker full of static stuff

haha, yes I would love that comp

yeah, there are still plenty of comps about that I like the look of

at the top level, as Robbo says about different facets, I see very little testing of anything but limit strength, made even worse at BSM by cutting the loading